Endless
by Benjamin .M. White
Summary: SPOILER WARNING FOR THE END OF SUNRISE! Hollyleaf lives, and finds a new master in the dark tunnels. Gaining power beyond any cat, her brothers must stop her from tearing apart the Clans.
1. Chapter 1

Endless. They were endless. Not just these tunnels. Lies, false friends, a false code, a failing 'family'...

Green fire lit her eyes. "My own brothers left me!" she growled. "They are all traitors! Traitors! I shall kill them all! They all deserve to die! I am one of the three! I _can_ kill them all!" She rambled on. And on, and on. Only she could still deny that she was mad.

There was no light. All the tunnels were dark, hopeless. But her mind never registered that. She only wanted to walk on, find a way out, and kill them all. All kinds of rocks scraped against her sides and pads. Blood dripped out of a tear of her hind foot, but she didn't feel it. She only felt revenge.

Hours slipped away, but she never stopped. She never got hungry or thirsty. The hard floor of the cave meant nothing. The stifling, moist air did nothing. The hopless darkness was a refuge. She never saw light... until then.

A spectral figure padded his way to the madcat. It was barely visible, since it was so small and black. Only one white paw let her spot it.

"Hollyleaf, one of the great three," it purred. She immediately unsheathed her claws, or at least tried to. She found them already unsheathed. It seemed as if they had been for a long time. She didn't bother to think about it. She only leaped at it, trying to tear out it's throat. Despite realizing it had a collar of teeth on, she ignored it completely.

The ghost sidestepped it and jumped onto her back mid-leap, pinning her to the ground. Despite being a good deal smaller than the warrior, it kept her down perfectly. Every struggle, it managed to find some secret pressure point to stop it. "You have the spirit and rage to become a great warrior. But not yet. You are blind, and have let the betrayal of your terrible family smother you. Do you know who I am?" Hollyleaf only growled under the smaller cat's body.

"I am Scourge, the one who defeated Firestar."

Now, Hollyleaf spoke. Words seemed hard to form. "No. I heard Firestar killed you."

Scourge chuckled evilly. "Not so. I took one of his nine lives before he took my one. If it had been a fair fight, _I _would of won. In fact, I took all the nine lives of Tigerstar in one bite." Despite the haze of insanity through her eyes, Hollyleaf could be seen considering him.

"And I'll tell you something no one knows..." he meowed in a taunting voice. "Firestar is my brother. We share a mother, but not a father. In a way, you and I are kin. But I will never betray you like your false mothers, fathers, and brothers did. I can teach you how to channel your anger. _I _can unlock your potential as one of the three, and I can teach you all the secrets that the Clans thought to _dishonorable._" He spat out the last word like poison.

"...Show me proof." Scourge walked off her and down a tunnel she hadn't noticed. In only a minute's walk, she saw sunlight again. But she recoiled at it. Looking around, she was in WindClan territory. She longed for solitude among the trees, and a dark pit away from the light. She even considered going back into the cave.

"We shall wait a quarter-moon," Scourge commanded. "By then, they shall of lessened their guard. Then, we shall murder then all, one by one. And I will forge you into the greatest assassin the lake has ever seen."

Hollyleaf turned to her great-half-uncle, who she now held above any other relative. "Of course, master..." Soon, her revenge would be endless. The cats she could kill, the blood in her mouth, and the land that would be hers. Endless madness...


	2. Chapter 2

The edges of Scourge's figure were blurring. Soon, he would be gone.

"In your final memory, your brothers said that you died in utter insanity, possibly killing yourself. I heard their messages to the rest of the Clan, and you were ashamed and disgraced. Hollyleaf is now a name synonymous with 'dishonor', 'madness', and everything against what you once hoped to be."

Defiant anger still coursed through her then. "I am no longer _Hollyleaf_," she said, spitting the name. "I now want nothing to do with the Code."

Scourge slowly walked over and sat beside her. His voice was thick with charisma, every work sinking into the madcat's mind like an anchor; anchoring her in to Scourge's path. "Yes, you are no longer Hollyleaf. It is time for you to take a new name."

Hollyleaf bowed her head low in respect. "I am yours to serve, as long as you can guide me to revenge. Name me as you wish."

"It is not my place to do so. For now, you are named nothing, only my apprentice. But when you have performed a deed worthy enough, you shall take a name." Another wave of vengeful fantasizes came on. A worthy name... it would be something that would be remembered forever. She knew it.

With that, Scourge's ghostly image began to fade with the rising sun. "Remember... use the shadows to your advantage. Turn the cats on one another, which you have already begun with Ashfur's murder. When your opponent is weakened, one blow will topple them all. Choose your actions wisely."

With that, Scourge was gone.

***

Twilight was falling, and the nameless cat sat at the mouth of the cave. She had slept all through the day in the cave, only coming out for an occasional hunt. She hunted in the copses of trees on the border of WindClan territory; not giving her scent away in her former home. Plus, the thought of a thief would escalate the tensions between TunderClan and WindClan even more.

"I already see you have began work." Scourge materialized beside her, but very faintly. "Follow me into the tunnels. I can barely see you here." Without further explanation, he padded on. The apprentice followed. She didn't bother to think about Scourge's odd comment.

Despite the darkness, Scourge glowed dimly. It was stronger than before. But he was not like Runningnose and Raggedstar, when she had seen the spirits guide Blackstar back to StarClan's path. He was a dark light of sorts, dimmed and impeded on. "I can only come to you in places strong with the spirit of dead cats," he explained. "This cave was host to many spirits throughout the seasons, but only one has yet to make his way out into the stars. I have dealt with him."

Scourge's apprentice bowed her head. "Do you have any instruction for me?" she asked.

"I will give you very little instruction. But I can tell you much, and help guide you. In fact, I spied in ThunderClan camp today. It has a surprisingly strong spirit aura, I might add. And your brothers think they have found your replacement."

He carefully toned his words to strike the apprentice with anger. She wouldn't admit it, not even to herself, but Hollyleaf still lived inside her. Just a bit... but Scourge was determined not to let that pull her back. He needed to use it to his advantage.

"Replacement?" she spat.

"Yes. They think this _Dovekit _or_ Ivykit _are part of the prophecy, and you really have no power."

"I HAVE MORE POWER THAN ALL OF THEM!"

Inwardly, Scourge smiled. It was perfectly playing out. "Do not overestimate yourself. There are two of your brothers, and only one of you. Which is why I give you this." He touched his single black paw to the apprentice's body.

Scourge's dark light swelled in his foot, and began to wash over his apprentice. The darkness of the cave seemed to deepen as the initiation began.

"In my many seasons of dark wandering, I have discovered the secrets of cat spirits. I know even more than Midnight, Sol, or even the cat named Rock. All my secrets are now yours."

Power! Such power! The apprentice felt her body fading away into the form of Scourge, seeing the world as he would see it. The faint traces of spirit and emotion filled the cave to the brim. And this was only the tip of her ability!

The ceremony was finished. "My apprentice, with this power, you hold the power of the stars in _your whole body_. I have given a great gift to you. But with it, you will need much training."

Her voice shook with excitement. "I-I am ready to begin."

"No you are not!" he quickly retorted. "I had no mentor when I trained myself. You must find your name before you shall find me again."

With that, Scourge was gone once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Jayfeather opened his eyes to blink wearily at the forest around. Sunlight warmed his fur, and he saw the tall trees reflected it gracefully. Different rays shone through small dew drops on the grass, occasionally creating a small rainbow... wait... he could see!

The strong tang of Yellowfang filled his mouth and nostrils. But there was something strange about her this time... did he smell a bit of fear? No, was it anxiety? Yes, a mixture. StarClan definitely had a message. But he had not recalled any time the old cat appeared this worried.

Rustling around a clump of low thornless bushes, the elderly medicine cat emerged. "Jayfeather..." she meowed, as if deciding on how she should approach this.

"Come on Yellowfang, just tell me," he muttered in a slurred purr. Something had been keeping the blind cat on edge for the past few days. Even though they didn't discuss it, Lionblaze was jumpy in the same way. It must've been like the feeling Mousefur always droned on about when a thunderstorm was brewing, what she could feel in her very bones. Even Firestar seemed to be experiencing some symptoms... he rarely would come out of his den the past few days, only for making announcements and getting prey. Despite the clear, cloudless sky that had been continuing for the past few days, Silverpelt could be very well covered by looming thunderheads.

"Your sister lives."

Jayfeather felt his jaw hang limply. Hollyleaf... lived? How was he supposed to feel? Exhilarated that his sister was alive? Worried that this could lead to disaster among the Clans? His lie revealed? Even worse her _insanity?_

A shake of his head was all that he needed to collect himself. His first question was simply "How?"

"The rockslide didn't kill her, it fell just behind her." Her face was still twisted like she had a bellyache. There was obviously more.

"Yellowfang, you have to stop hiding things from us -"

"Scourge." She spat the word out like poison. Specifically, life-threatening poison, something horrific.

Jayfeather puzzled over the word for a moment. Scourge was like a plague, something awful... no, no...

"The spirit of all cats, whether part of a Clan, Tribe, or even kittypet lives on. Even the spirits of Blood Clan. Scourge has found your sister."

This couldn't be true! Scourge was almost a fairytale! The Queens used it to scare their kits into going to bed on time! He didn't even believe in Star Clan! It wasn't until at least a few minutes later that he realized he was mewling "No," over and over.

"Jayfeather, just remember this - you hold the power of the stars in your paws. So does Lionblaze. So does who used to be Hollyleaf."

***

"I thought I saw a rabbit over that way; could you go check it out? I'll stay here."

Breezepelt nodded absentmindedly. Thoughts had been swarming in his head like flies since the last gathering. Both he and Heathertail wanted time to themselves.

If the female cat had a choice, she would never set foot in that little patch of forest on Wind Clan territory. But she scented a faint whiff of something that seemed to remind her of Lionblaze. It was more than just ThunderClan scent that always blowed across the border. She wanted to investigate.

Inside the too-congested clump of wood, she kept her eyes peeled for squirrels. But it was only an excuse to herself that coming her was just to get food, and she was doing something productive.

The shadows of the tall deciduous trees gave the whole place an aura of creepiness. At least, that was what it felt like now. Strange, she didn't remember this kind of mood. Maybe it was how the shadows of the leaves shifted.

She looked, trying to catch a glimpse of her beloved sky, but the stationary leaves gave no gap. Looking back to the ground, she suddenly realized something was wrong. The trees weren't moving. Their shadows were.

Suddenly, she felt some kind of invisible entity leap upon her. Claws tore into her body, but things stronger than claws tore into her mind...

"_I am the greatest of the Three," _whispered through her hacked mind.


End file.
